For pinky violence I highly recommend School of the Holy Beast. His Sukeban films are lightweight fun as well, especially the first 3 (although some of the best films in the series, mainly 5 and 7, were not directed by Suzuki). Dolls of the Shogun's Harem is also quite good, more of a rock-pediod-sex-drama than pinky violence, though. edit: and the first Terrifying Girls' High School film, Women's Violent Classroom of course! It's more mean spirited than most of his other films, but I think it's pretty good.

From action films I recommend the turbo-action-comedy Roaring Fire and the karate biopic Killing Machine, both with Sonny Chiba.

Of course, there are many other good ones, too... The Truck Yaro series (comedy), Shogun's Ninja (period action), Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls (Roman Porno), and The Secret of the Fylfot (ninja exploitation) to mention a few.

For pinky violence I highly recommend School of the Holy Beast. His Sukeban films are lightweight fun as well, especially the first 3 (although some of the best films in the series, mainly 5 and 7, were not directed by Suzuki). Dolls of the Shogun's Harem is also quite good, more of a rock-pediod-sex-drama than pinky violence, though. edit: and the first Terrifying Girls' High School film, Women's Violent Classroom of course! It's more mean spirited than most of his other films, but I think it's pretty good.

From action films I recommend the turbo-action-comedy Roaring Fire and the karate biopic Killing Machine, both with Sonny Chiba.

Of course, there are many other good ones, too... The Truck Yaro series (comedy), Shogun's Ninja (period action), Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls (Roman Porno), and The Secret of the Fylfot (ninja exploitation) to mention a few.

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (座頭市地獄旅) (Japan, 1965) [BD] - 4/5
Part 12. Zatoichi films are similar to ninkyo yakuza films in the sense that their quality doesn't come down so much to originality as to how beautifully they recite the usual formula. In Zatoichi films the basic patter is that of a road movie, with much emphasis on Zatoichi's interaction with the people he meets. This one is one of the best films in the series. The film's asset is Mikio Narita as a psychotic yet friendship seeking swordsman and chess master who becomes Zatoichi's travel companion to treat his own loneliness and desire for intellectual challenge. Throughout the film they walk a fine line between friendship and death. The film is beautifully directed by Kenji Misumi, with a fine balance between interesting characterization and fast moving action. There's also a very funny gambling scene played to the perfection.

Kôkôsei burai hikae: Tsuki no Muramasa (高校生無頼控 突きのムラマサ) (Japan, 1973) [VoD] - 2.5/5
The 2nd film in the Muramasa trilogy, all based on Kazuo Koike comic books, these are quite a bit more light hearted than the material he is usually associated with. There's plenty of silliness mixed with nostalgic 70s youth comedy innocence, and no, sexism, groping and bit of raping were not deemed unfit for this context back then. The film opens with high school kid gone watadori Muramasa is practicing kendo bare-assed by the river, which shocks a pretty lady so bad she falls off her bike. A few moments (and a lecture about manhood's symbol) later he's already "accidentally" groping her breasts while getting a ride, all thanks to a bumpy road of course. The rest of the film follows in the same trails, with Muramasa coming across goofy characters and hot girls, with little in terms of plot. Muramasa is this time played by Masaaki Daimon, and the girls he runs into are Yuriko Hishimi (teacher), Yayoi Watanabe (bar girl) and Sayoko Kato (school girl), all of whom he manages relieve of their clothing. Worth mentioning as a bit of trivia is that all three films (1972-1973) premiered as Toho "Wild Youth" double features with the Rica films, a series that started out mean and gritty, but eventually went down the Muramasa road of comic book silliness.

Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! (Japan, 1963) Netflix DVD 3.5/5
Entertaining and colorful Yakuza movie from Seijun Suzuki, that has fun with the spy genre and features some interesting characters. The always great Jô Shishido plays the wise guy detective who gets hired by police to infiltrate a yakuza gang and keep a potential witness alive. Of course he gets in too deep and things ramp up quickly.
The alluring Reiko Sassamori (as the bosses girl, that Jô takes a shining to - he did a number of movies with her) slowly falls in love with him amidst trying to figure out what he's up to; while his 'girlfriend' Sally (Naomi Hoshi), occasionally becomes useful to his momentary needs in trying to outwit the yakuza gang, who he's constantly trying to keep one step ahead of.
Because it's Suzuki, there are plenty of little quirks, most of which are interesting to see, as spy thrillers usually tend to be pretty serious and dry. When Shishido actually gets up to join in singing (if you can call it that) on one of the musical numbers... uh.... hmm, maybe that sentence is a 'nuff said.

Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee's Challenge (Japan, 1972) Dailymotion online - 3.5/5
Maybe a little less stylish than some of director Norfumi Suzuki’s other work I’ve seen, but this early Sukeban genre movie moves along at a quick pace - Reiko Ike’s gang gets into it with a rival gang led by the pretty Chiyoko Kazama, all the while dealing with ways to make money and dealing with the local Yakuza gang that wants to control them. Miki Sugimoto plays a lesser role here, not yet the star she’d become, though memorable in this for getting held down by the rival gang as they spray Coca-Cola up her cootchie and then try and make her lick it up - AND getting the Japanese boob rope torture later on... Reiko, in one of the gang’s more interesting scams has a bathtub scene with some perfectly placed bubbles. It has some harsh and violent torture scenes, intermixed with some humor, leading to a final confrontation.. there are better examples of the greatness of this genre, but the stars of the movie, along with quality direction, make it a fun watch.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701’s Grudge Song (Japan, 1973) Amazon Prime - 3/5
The studio kept cutting back the budget, so Meiko Kaji quit the series after this movie, and even though it’s considered the weakest of the films, it still has it’s moments.
On the run, Nami (Meiko) gets injured by the police trying to recapture her. A guy who runs the lights and sound in a strip club, finds her injured and helps nurse her back to health. He has a history with the police as well and him and Nami bond and actually have sex! The first half of the movie is a bit slow at times, but once she's recaptured and back in the prison, things pick up leading to what you'd expect.
Meiko's character actually talks during a visit with another death row inmate, and that’s pretty much the extent of her dialogue, except for a classic line at the very end. Directed by Yasuharu Hasebe (Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter), who provides some memorable visuals, it’s still worth seeing, if for nothing more than just Meiko’s one last go at the character.

Amai Wana aka Sweet Trap (Japan, 1963) YouTube - 3.5/5
Director Kôji Wakamatsu's first film is available on Youtube for free and it's worth checking out. Many of the themes that reoccur throughout his career are on display here, and the black and white film is stylish in it's simplicity.
The pretty Reiko Gosho (those lips!) in her only imdb listed appearance, plays a young lady who just wants her boyfriend to wait for sex, despite his objections and seemingly everyone else doing it. Enter yakuza pimp Gorô Mutsumi, who with the help of his already abused working girl Tamaki Katori (the well known pink film actress in an early role), gets the young virgin drunk, rapes her, and then makes her available for sale to others.
In Japanese with no subtitles, it's difficult to tell if the dialogue is sometimes as stiff as it seems, but all three main characters are perfect in their EXPRESSIVE reactions... the submissive hurt from abuse, the evil manipulation, the horror... this is some pretty solid stuff...
The ending is marvelous, and even though this isn't arty in it's form per se, it's sad and lurid in a way that you just can't help but watch.
A quick 54 minutes in Black and White.

Tamaki Katori (left) and Reiko Gosho (right)

Reiko Gosho

Last edited by chazgower01 on 23 Jun 2018, 08:30, edited 1 time in total.

HungFist wrote:Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (座頭市地獄旅) (Japan, 1965) [BD] - 4/5
Part 12. Zatoichi films are similar to ninkyo yakuza films in the sense that their quality doesn't come so down so much to originality as to how beautifully they recite the usual formula. In Zatoichi films the basic patter is that of a road movie, with much emphasis on Zatoichi's interaction with the people he meets. This one is one of the best films in the series. The film's asset is Mikio Narita as a psychotic yet friendship seeking swordsman and chess master who becomes Zatoichi's travel companion to treat his own loneliness and desire for intellectual challenge. Throughout the film they walk a fine line between friendship and death. The film is beautifully directed by Kenji Misumi, with a fine balance between interesting characterization and fast moving action. There's also a very funny gambling scene played to the perfection.

Couldn't agree more with this, it's definitely in the top5 when it comes to the Zatoichi series and for my money it features Katsu's best performance as the titular masseuse.

Shingster wrote:Couldn't agree more with this, it's definitely in the top5 when it comes to the Zatoichi series and for my money it features Katsu's best performance as the titular masseuse.

Which ones would you consider the best films in the series? How about the worst?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit but I'm seeing many of these for the 1st time. I saw a half dozen of them back in the dvd days, then a few more in 35mm, and a small bunch from BD, prior to this year when I finally got an urge to explore the rest of the (Criterion) set.

Zatoichi's Vengeance (座頭市の歌が聞える) (Japan, 1965) [BD] - 3.5/5
Part 13. It's not where you go, it's who you meet along the way. This routinely plotted (small town terrorized by an evil gang) but otherwise well written entry is vitalized by a set of excellent supporting characters. Zatoichi crosses paths with a good hearted prostitute, a samurai willing to risk his life for money, and a blind monk who forces Zatoichi to consider his actions from a moral perspective. Although the latter aspect is not developed as far as one would wish, it adds some depth to the exceptionally well choreographed fight fest. The film also sees Zatoichi momentarily grab a katana (as opposed to his usual cane sword) which translates to different, more traditional fighting style.

Showa Woman Gambler (昭和おんな博徒) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 4.5/5
A superb ninkyo yakuza film by Tai Kato, who best known for his minimalist style. This film, however, is more dramatic, an emotionally draining tale of a suicidal woman (Kyoko Enami) saved by a decent yakuza (Hiroki Matsukata) who is named as a successor for a dying gang boss. The man's yakuza brother (Fumio Watanabe) doesn't take this well and teams up with other gangsters to hire an assassin, who is an honourable man nursing his wife, to take care of things. Normally, this would suffice for an entire storyline in a ninkyo film, but here it only accounts for the first half. There are several brilliant scenes, such as the one where Enami, wishing to degrade herself in order to be accepted as a wife by yakuza Matsukata, begs an old tattoo master to tattoo her back. The whole cast is terrific, including several actors cast against type (regular Toei slime bags Tatsuo Endo and Akira Shioji as benevolent gangsters) but it's Enami who shines the brightest. Her slow, torturous transform into a yakuza gambler brings tears even to a jaded yakuza film viewer's eyes.

School of the Holy Beast (Japan, 1974) Website - 4/5
Director Norifumi Suzuki is impressive in this exploitation movie that is beautifully shot and put together. This isn’t a jerk-off movie, this is a director who is making a FILM. Sure, it has T&A, plenty of it; and the story IS pure exploitation, but it’s done with such a talented eye for detail, story telling and symbolism, that once you start watching it, you just can’t help but get caught up in the story, as simplistic as it is. You may have shown up for the tits, but Suzuki’s craftsmanship lures you into the whole movie.
Yumi Takigawa joins the convent to find out what happened to her mom. She should’ve known from the naked initiation ceremony, that something was amiss here! And it is… torture, rape, lesbianism… these nuns have put together the most dysfunctional convent you could imagine. And Suzuki turns it into an creative indictment of religion.
I wonder if Suzuki originally had Miki Sugimoto in mind for this role and she turned it down - being early 1974 when she was at the end of her exploitation queen run - and Yumi Takigawa was chosen (in only her second movie) for the slight resemblance she has to her...
If only these genre movies could all be as well made as this....

They'd of course make some changes to this poster art for the U.S.!

I noticed this similar framing of Takigawa for when she joins the school...

chazgower01 wrote:
I wonder if Suzuki originally had Miki Sugimoto in mind for this role and she turned it down - being early 1974 when she was at the end of her exploitation queen run - and Yumi Takigawa was chosen (in only her second movie) for the slight resemblance she has to her...

Her 1st movie, actually. According to JP wikipedia, she was scouted by Norifumi Suzuki in front of Tokyo Station while she was still a university student looking for a part time job...

I think Takigawa was really good in School of the Holy Beast. The role suited her well. She faired much worse in New Female Prisoner Scorpion (1976) where she just didn't have the charisma required by the role.

But that's an interesting idea about her resemblance to Sugimoto. And glad to hear you enjoyed the film.

Though it must be coincidental, it's interesting to see how much the film visually resembles Argento's Suspiria (1977) in places.

I have a lazy habit at times of using imdb.com for Japanese movies, despite the fact that I know they aren't as on target with their information (They list Ninkyô hana ichirin aka Chivalry of One Lone Flower with Tatsuya Fuji as her first movie).
For Chinese films I use hkmdb.com, which is great.... is there a good site for Japanese film information that's comparable to these?

Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban (Japan, 1973) DVD - 3/5
Sort of strange that Exploitation Digital chose THIS movie as one of their early releases. And for a Norifumi Suzuki movie, it’s kinda tame until the finale, where it seems the colors start to really pop and the girls get their revenge. Miki Sugimoto takes a beating as usual (is it any wonder she tired of these roles), and Reiko Ike slowly takes over the movie as usual, but really it all feels a little darker, a little less fun than some of the others.
What IS great about this DVD is the inclusion of a Norifumi Suzuki interview! Worth it just for that!

I have a lazy habit at times of using imdb.com for Japanese movies, despite the fact that I know they aren't as on target with their information (They list Ninkyô hana ichirin aka Chivalry of One Lone Flower with Tatsuya Fuji as her first movie).
For Chinese films I use hkmdb.com, which is great.... is there a good site for Japanese film information that's comparable to these?

Chivalry of One Lone Flower is at the bottom of the IMDb listing for her 1974 films because they don't have a release date for it, only release year, hence its listed as the "oldest" by default. It actually came out 8 months later.

I use jmdb all the time, but it's in Japanese only. It's a lot more barebones than IMDb, basically just a text database, but very good for checking exact release dates or learning which films came out the same day as double features. For English sites, IMDb is generally good, you just have to keep in mind a lot of films are missing and there may be mistakes in the information.

chazgower01 wrote:Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban (Japan, 1973) DVD - 3/5
Sort of strange that Exploitation Digital chose THIS movie as one of their early releases. And for a Norifumi Suzuki movie, it’s kinda tame until the finale, where it seems the colors start to really pop and the girls get their revenge. Miki Sugimoto takes a beating as usual (is it any wonder she tired of these roles), and Reiko Ike slowly takes over the movie as usual, but really it all feels a little darker, a little less fun than some of the others.
What IS great about this DVD is the inclusion of a Norifumi Suzuki interview! Worth it just for that!

This is my least favourite of the Girl Boss films. What bothered me most was the tiresome and blatant misogyny that seemed to be inherent in the script. Sure, these are exploitation films, but they are also supposed to be films where girls kick arse. In this film, all the females are constantly beaten, slapped, and raped even by the wimpiest of yakuza. It seems any male, no matter how weak, is by default stronger than the most badass girl boss. Example 1: how does the fight between the genre queens Ike and Sugimoto end? The former's boyfriend comes, slaps Miki in the face and drags Reiko in the car. What an anti-climax...

For an example of the opposite, please see the wonderful Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (if you haven't already), the most feminist of all the male audience serving sexploitation action flicks.

HungFist wrote:
I use jmdb all the time, but it's in Japanese only. It's a lot more barebones than IMDb, basically just a text database, but very good for checking exact release dates or learning which films came out the same day as double features. For English sites, IMDb is generally good, you just have to keep in mind a lot of films are missing and there may be mistakes in the information.

Cool... I'll figure out how to navigate it. Those release dates listed are great!

HungFist wrote:(Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban) This is my least favourite of the Girl Boss films. What bothered me most was the tiresome and blatant misogyny that seemed to be inherent in the script. Sure, these are exploitation films, but they are also supposed to be films where girls kick arse. In this film, all the females are constantly beaten, slapped, and raped even by the wimpiest of yakuza. It seems any male, no matter how weak, is by default stronger than the most badass girl boss. Example 1: how does the fight between the genre queens Ike and Sugimoto end? The former's boyfriend comes, slaps Miki in the face and drags Reiko in the car. What an anti-climax...

Yeah, it seems as though they hang on to the very end to show them stand up to their attackers - they take a lot of abuse up until then. If I didn't have a pretty good idea of what was coming in the end, I might have not bothered to finish it. Don't know if you noticed, but the movie also seemed kinda of muted in it's colors up until the finale, where they really pop. I wonder if this was a specific director choice.

HungFist wrote:For an example of the opposite, please see the wonderful Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (if you haven't already), the most feminist of all the male audience serving sexploitation action flicks.

Yes, the girls are definitely in-charge in that movie!
Not sure why I didn't write a review of it, but enjoyed it very much... the jailyard fight between Reiko and Miki is a classic!

chazgower01 wrote:
Cool... I'll figure out how to navigate it. Those release dates listed are great!

If you click on the release date you'll get a(n almost) complete list Japanese films released that year. Since studios opened their own films as double features back then (or triple, in case of Roman Porno) you can easily figure out which films were double features. Examples:

1968.06.28 (Toei)
- Onsen Geisha
- Return of the Scoundrel
* Tomisaburo Wakayama is well known for having hated and opposed Teruo Ishii's ero-guro films... my own theory is that that is partly because Toei often released Ishii and Wakayama films as double features and the Wakayama films were probably overshadowed by all the boobs in the Ishii posters...

chazgower01 wrote: Don't know if you noticed, but the movie also seemed kinda of muted in it's colors up until the finale, where they really pop. I wonder if this was a specific director choice.

Other than the DVD transfer being a little less than perfect, it is certainly visually less appealing than its predecessor. I thought maybe it was because unlike the 3rd film, which was set in the outdoors of the beautiful Kyoto, the 4th one is set in the streets of Osaka, which is more of an industrial town and not that pretty a place. Or maybe Suzuki was just being lazy and didn't invest so much in the visuals. On the DVD interview he actually says they didn't really have good ideas for the films but kept making them anyway because they made money

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (座頭市海を渡る) (Japan, 1966) [BD] - 3.5/5
The 14th film in the series promises a more spiritual approach with Zatoichi deciding to visit 88 shrines to atone for the lives he's taken. It is a bit of a shame the film does not ultimately pursue this path, but instead throws Zatoichi into another adventure when his journey is interrupted by an assassin sent after him. This is, nevertheless, an enjoyable and exceptionally romantic entry in the series with the wounded Zatoichi nursed back to health by a woman whose brother he killed. The lady is charmingly played by Michiyo Yasuda, who remains virtually unknown outside of Japan but was a major action star at Daiei in the late 60s, starring in films such as Kanto Woman Yakuza (1968), Bamboo Leaf Omon (1968) and Lady Sazen and the Drenched Swallow Sword (1969). This film is also "notorious" for having been unavailable outside of Japan for ages because Tarantino and Miramax had acquired the rights, apparently in case they'd decide to remake it.

Modern Yakuza: Three Cherry Blossom Blood Brothers (現代やくざ 血桜三兄弟) (Japan, 1971) [VoD] - 2.5/5
The 4th film in the series (not 5th; many English language sources mistakenly include the 1969 film "Outlaw of Shinjuku" in the series). Three small time gangsters (Bunta Sugawara, Tsunehiko Watase and Goro Ibuki) get involved in a deadly gang war after a suave gambler and ladies men (Asao Koike) arrives the town and causes a yakuza conflict. Quite a passable, but ultimately forgettable modern day yakuza film made just before the jitsuroku era. Groovy score and good performances (especially Ichiro Araki as a shy wanna-be gangster) are the film's assets. The film would probably rate a notch higher if there weren't scores of other, more accomplished yakuza films out there. Very watchable nevertheless.

Be warned that most films on DMM are VHS era masters, though it doesn't really matter for films that have never received a better master. And you'll probably need a proxy service to access them from outside of Japan (payment is not a problem as Paypal works). If you're interested in Roman Porno (they have approx 650 titles available, including hundreds of films never released on dvd even in Japan) then taking the "Pink Channel" subscription (unlimited viewing for one month) for 3000 yen is a better alternative than paying 515 yen per title.

Amazon is probably even more difficult as they don't accept foreign credit cards (for VoD). It seems some people have figured a way around it, but I don't know what it is...

Be warned that most films on DMM are VHS era masters, though it doesn't really matter for films that have never received a better master. And you'll probably need a proxy service to access them from outside of Japan (payment is not a problem as Paypal works). If you're interested in Roman Porno (they have approx 650 titles available, including hundreds of films never released on dvd even in Japan) then taking the "Pink Channel" subscription (unlimited viewing for one month) for 3000 yen is a better alternative than paying 515 yen per title.

Amazon is probably even more difficult as they don't accept foreign credit cards (for VoD). It seems some people have figured a way around it, but I don't know what it is...

Ong-Bak The Thai Warrior (Thailand, 2003) U.S. DVD - 3/5
Picked this up at a V-stock for $5, not having seen it since back when it first came out. Having been to Thailand a few times over the last year, I was curious to see if I viewed it any differently, and I do... it's still just a better than average entertaining movie, but it's cool to see the city I love so much and some of it's unique culture.
The Thai Buddha (much lesser known than the Chinese Buddha), the tuk tuks, the seedy back alleys, and of course, Muay Thai martial arts - it's all there, which for me, makes it more fun to watch.
Tony Jaa is the Jackie/Bruce hybrid they hoped, he just lacks the charisma of either of those two to crossover as a mainstream star and here in his first real feature, he's amazing as a fighter and an stunt performer/co-ordinator, but he NEEDS Petchtai Wongkamlao (as George/Humlae) there to add some much appreciated humanity and humor. Having the cute, tom-boyish Pumwaree Yodkamol (as Muay) as a female tagalong, helps as well.
The fighting and the stunts are pretty great, though they sometimes lack the fluid rhythmic style of Jackie Chan - Muay Thai is a FIGHTING martial arts - and like Jackie, Tony does all of his own stunts. He really is a physically gifted performer.
It's a mostly enjoyable, sometimes over the top, low budget foreign martial arts movie that introduced Tony Jaa to the rest of the world.